Evaluating the Impact of Contracting and Procurement Methods on Energy and Carbon Emissions Reduction in the Public Construction Sector
Publication: ASCE Inspire 2023
ABSTRACT
The construction industry is pivotal in leading the global community toward alleviating carbon emissions. Previous research is focused on measuring carbon emissions, developing rating systems, replacing them with sustainable construction materials, and evaluating life-cycle costs. However, fewer studies talk about the importance of carbon emissions in the planning and designing phase of construction projects. This paper aims to assess the impact of procurement and the role of project delivery methods in carbon emissions reduction in the public construction sector. To achieve this research objective, authors have conducted semi-structured interviews of eight major stakeholders involved in the procurement process in public construction sectors in addition to a thorough literature review. The results revealed that project delivery methods with early stakeholder involvement have a positive impact on carbon emissions reduction compared to conventional delivery methods. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers regarding the feasible approaches to achieve carbon emissions reduction. The results also shed light on the potential application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the construction industry, which can be further explored in future research.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
REFERENCES
Ahmed, N., Abdel-Hamid, M., Abd El-Razik, M. M., and El-Dash, K. M. (2021). Impact of sustainable design in the construction sector on climate change. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 12(2), 1375–1383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2020.11.002.
Ali, K. A., Ahmad, M. I., and Yusup, Y. (2020). Issues, impacts, and mitigations of carbon dioxide emissions in the building sector. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(18).
Chen, Y., Wu, Y., Chen, N., Kang, C., Du, J., and Luo, C. (2022). Calculation of Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions in the Construction Stage of Large Public Buildings and an Analysis of Influencing Factors Based on an Improved STIRPAT Model. In Buildings (Vol. 12, Issue 12). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122211.
González-Torres, M., Pérez-Lombard, L., Coronel, J. F., Maestre, I. R., and Yan, D. (2022). A review on buildings energy information: Trends, end-uses, fuels and drivers. In Energy Reports (Vol. 8, pp. 626–637). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.11.280.
Hafsa, F., Darnall, N., and Bretschneider, S. (2021). Estimating the True Size of Public Procurement to Assess Sustainability Impact. Sustainability, 13(3), Article 3.
He, P., Bui, T. T. P., Shahzad, W., Wilkinson, S., and Domingo, N. (2022). Towards Effective Implementation of Carbon Reduction Strategies in Construction Procurement: A Case Study of New Zealand. Buildings, 12(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101570.
He, P., Bui, T. T. P., Shahzad, W., Wilkinson, S., and Domingo, N. (2022). Towards Effective Implementation of Carbon Reduction Strategies in Construction Procurement: A Case Study of New Zealand. Buildings, 12(10). doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101570.
Inflation Reduction Act, (2022).
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, (2021).
IPCC, et al. (2023). Synthesis Report of The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).
Kadefors, A., Lingegård, S., Uppenberg, S., Alkan-Olsson, J., and Balian, D. (2021). Designing and implementing procurement requirements for carbon reduction in infrastructure construction–international overview and experiences. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 64(4), 611–634. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2020.1778453.
Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Health Promotion Practice, 16(4), 473–475. doi:10.1177/1524839915580941.
Matthew, A., Victoria, B., Christine, C., Xavier Le, D., and Stephen, R. (2019). Bringing embodied carbon upfront. World Green Building Council.
Molenaar, K., and Sobin, N. (2009). Sustainable, High Performance Projects and Project Delivery Methods.
National Engineering Policy Centre. (2020). Decarbonising construction: building a new net zero industry.
Nieto, M. J. (2022). Whatever it Takes to Reach Net Zero Emissions Around 2050 and Limit Global Warming to 1.5c: The Cases of United States, China, European Union and Japan. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4007974.
Peterson, L. A. (2023). Improving Environmentally Conscious Procurement Through Broader Responsibility Determinations And The EPA’s Suspension And Debarment Powers. Public Contract Law Journal, 52(2), 297–322.
Robinson, O. C. (2013). Sampling in Interview-Based Qualitative Research: A Theoretical and Practical Guide. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 11(1), 25–41.
Rochette, A. (2018). Integrated Project Delivery: Lessons from the Field. Energy Engineering, 115(1), 47–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/01998595.2018.11950817.
Sagalow, Z., and Portes, R. (2023, May 3). Construction loans grow, delinquencies level off at US banks. S&P Global Homepage. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/blog/banking-essentials-newsletter-3rd-may-edition.
Sanchez, A. X., Lehtiranta, L. M., and Hampson, K. D. (2015). Use of contract models to improve environmental outcomes in transport infrastructure construction. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 58(11), 1923–1943.
Sanchez, A., Lehtiranta, L., Hampson, K. D., Kenley, R., and Sanchez, A. X. (2013). Sustainable infrastructure procurement in Australia : standard vs. project practices. Construction and Society. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298370229.
Sizirici, B., Fseha, Y., Cho, C. S., Yildiz, I., and Byon, Y. J. (2021). A review of carbon footprint reduction in construction industry, from design to operation. In Materials (Vol. 14, Issue 20). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14206094.
Sizirici, B., Fseha, Y., Cho, C.-S., Yildiz, I., and Byon, Y.-J. (2021). A Review of Carbon Footprint Reduction in Construction Industry, from Design to Operation. Materials, 14(20), 6094.
Stockholm Environment Institute. (2023). Accelerating green public procurement for decarbonization of the construction and road transport sectors in the EU. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://doi.org/10.51414/sei2023.007.
Sun, L. L., Cui, H. J., and Ge, Q. S. (2022). Will China achieve its 2060 carbon neutral commitment from the provincial perspective? Advances in Climate Change Research, 13(2), 169–178.
Umar, T., and Egbu, C. (2018). Perceptions on safety climate: a case study in the Omani construction industry. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Management, Procurement and Law, 171(6), 251–263. doi:10.1680/jmapl.18.00001.
UNEP. (2022). Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction.
Wondimu, P. A. (2019). Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) Approaches for Public Project Owners.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
ASCE Inspire 2023
Pages: 886 - 894
History
Published online: Nov 14, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Air pollution
- Buildings
- Business management
- Construction engineering
- Construction industry
- Construction management
- Construction materials
- Construction methods
- Emissions
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Environmental engineering
- Facilities (by type)
- Materials engineering
- Pollution
- Practice and Profession
- Procurement
- Project management
- Public buildings
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
- Sustainable development
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.